Why Are There 100 Folds in a Chef's Toque?

When it comes to culinary mythology, the French provide excellent material. For instance, mayonnaise is believed to be named for the taking of Port Mahon by the Duke of Richelieu in 1756. How valiant! Another good one: The hundred folds in a chef’s toque (that tall, pleated hat) represent the hundred ways to cook an egg.

Bon Appetit‘s April issue egg primer provided us an excuse to explore that adage. Where did the saying come from? If it’s true, did the French have a certain one hundred egg techniques in mind? (They do love their rules.)

The first person to turn to in any quest regarding esoteric French cooking wisdom is Auguste Escoffier, arguably the most famous figure in the history of French cuisine. While Escoffier didn’t popularize the toque as culinary headgear (that was the work of “chef of kings and king of chefs” Marie-Antoine Careme back in the 19th century), Escoffier was instrumental in elevating the status of chefs, in part by professionalizing their uniforms. Unfortunately, Escoffier’s 1903 Guide Culinaire, the bible of French cooking throughout most of the 20th century, contains no mention of the relationship between toques and egg cookery. (It does, however, contain 143 egg recipes.)

Next, Larousse Gastronomique, the great encyclopedia of French cuisine. But here, too, we struck out. The 1,206-page reference text contains no information on chef uniforms. It does, of course, have a generous entry about eggs, including 49 recipes ranging from poached eggs in aspic to scrambled eggs with smoked salmon.

Another name that comes immediately to mind where eggs are concerned: Jacques Pepin, who has educated American cooks on the proper ways to scramble, poach, and fry since the 1970s. Rather than wade through Pepin’s work–made even more monumental with the recent release of his Essential Pepin cookbook and a cooking show on PBS by the same name–we gave him a call.

“I’m familiar with the French adage that says the hundred folds represents one hundred ways to cook an egg, but I’m not sure where it comes from,” Pepin said. “I think that the egg is probably one of the greatest foods that we can have in the kitchen, whether we cook it by itself or combine it into a souffle or custard, or other type of thing. For me, I can’t live without eggs.”

Pepin copped to knowing a least one hundred ways to cook an egg, saying his favorite way is one he named after his mother: Eggs Jeannette.

French chef Alain Ducasse was equally stumped as to saying’s origin, but characterized eggs as “indispensible” to cooking.

“They can be used in a variety of ways,” said Ducasse. “I like to hard boil them and use them in the context of a gribiche sauce: chopped parsley, tarragon, chervil, capers and gherkins, mixed with yogurt, mustard, wine vinegar and olive oil. Grated hard-boiled egg is folded into the mixture. It’s easy to make and can be used as a garnish for grilled meat or fish.”

It’s obvious that eggs hold an invaluable place in the hearts of professional chefs, but still, no reference to the expression. We came up zeros from Michel Roux’s single-subject cookbook on eggs (aptly named Eggs), Brillat-Savarin’s Physiognomy of Taste, Elizabeth David’s French Provincial Cooking, and Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

The final call went to Cathy Kaufman, professor at NYC’s Institute of Culinary Education and chair of the Culinary Historians of New York. Kaufman was familiar with the saying, but didn’t know where it came from either. Her educated guess was that even if the adage isn’t directly attributable to Escoffier, it was meant to pay homage to the culture he helped create.

How about this: Let’s not let truth get in the way of a good saying. The main point is that eggs are versatile and wonderful. So without further ado, here are 100 things to do with an egg.